Feminism, Poetry, Images, Politics

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Emma Bee

From “Beyond the Waves: Feminist Artists Talk Across the Generations”:

Because of my recent experiences and projects and my upbringing, I would without hesitation or fear call myself a feminist artist. But after traveling the country, talking to artists and women of all varieties and ages, I wouldn’t say this was the most accessible identification. It is simultaneously the most “uncool” and “cool” proclamation; cool of course to those in the know. Our goal as feminist artists and art historians should be to get work by women seen, the critical context heard. But different generations of women artists need to choose open communications that commemorate without killing, but that recognize differences and the specificity of historical moments. An attitude adjustment is in order. Mentorship must come without passive aggression. Visible networks of friendly recognition must be initiated. There also needs to be a paradigm shift in our critical framework, so that younger women artists aren’t vilified by the hands that feed them. Objectification and glamour must be re-contextualized. The way we understand influence and imitation must be revised. This time the art world’s marketable revolution and glossy politics must be cracked open from the inside and out. Let feminism be an amorphous conceptual cloud that floats over women’s ideation and visual experience –and that brings us together instead of partitions us off from one another.